


activation sequence

by madhoney



Series: there’s no sound in space [1]
Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Mythology/Religion, Alternate Universe - Battlestar Galactica Fusion, Angst, DAY 7: REINCARNATION, Explicit Sexual Content, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Graphic Violence, Outer Space, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Resurrection, Science Fiction, Temporary Character Death, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:33:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22503322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madhoney/pseuds/madhoney
Summary: Ten lifted his eyes to Kun. The frustration was visible. Everyone was suffering.“That’s war, Kun,” Ten stated. He wasn’t exasperated or snarky – just matter-of-fact. “It's what we trained for. And it’s going to last a lot longer than this.”
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun
Series: there’s no sound in space [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620340
Comments: 54
Kudos: 91
Collections: In Every Lifetime: A KunTen Fan Week





	1. on the edge of nothing

**Author's Note:**

> ok so whew! i tried something completely different with this fic, but it's an au i've wanted to write for a long time so i'm really excited but really nervous to share this.
> 
> a note about the universe: they say **frack** (or frak) instead of fuck. it felt important to keep that canon lol.
> 
> anyway! it's been a very long time since i wrote anything chaptered, so i hope you all enjoy this! <3

“It’s been nine days,” Kun said. “Over a godsdamn week of this.”

Ten looked up from the paperback copy of  _ Crime & Punishment _ . He’d already read three times but new entertainment was now hard to come by. He saw Kun leaning against the edge of his bunk before furrowing his brows and returning to his book. 

“We’ve been out in space for a lot longer than this before,” Ten sighed. “At least we’re out of the shit...kind of.”

Kun laughed darkly, pushing away from Ten’s bed and pacing down the narrow room lined with bunks on either side. The marine’s barracks were quiet and empty, save for the two of them. A stack of playing cards and a few notebooks sat abandoned on the table in the middle of the slim hall. Spare combat boots lined the walls.

The rest of the marines aboard the battleship were out on patrols, working on their jets in the hangar deck, or shoveling down much-needed rations in the mess hall.

Kun was tired. So, so tired. He was finally off-duty for the first time in 22 hours, having pulled a double-shift on the patrol rotation. Almost everyone was on a six-hour off-duty rotation, but not Kun - he was always one to go the extra mile.

At least this was better than the immediate aftermath of the attack, when his time off was even less.

“‘Out of the shit,’” Kun repeated, spitting the words and shaking his head. “Now we’re just rolling around out here in this clunky old tin can, not knowing when we’ll hit some solid ground again, or even where the hell we’re going - or the next time we’ll get our shit rocked by the Cylons.”

Ten lifted his eyes to Kun. The frustration was visible. Everyone was suffering.

“That’s war, Kun,” Ten stated. He wasn’t exasperated or snarky – just matter-of-fact. “It's what we trained for. And it’s going to last a lot longer than this.”

Kun sighed and sunk down into the bunk beneath Ten’s. He was right. They trained years for this action and they knew what they were getting into, but no one would have predicted it would be quite like this. 

They were in difficult times. Horrible, difficult times. The humans were indeed at war, after a genocidal attack by the Cylons on their home planets, the Twelve Colonies. 

The Cylons were an artificially-intelligent robot species created many years ago by the humans. The first Cylons were entirely robotic in form, made of metal and wiring, and complete with a programmable computer system for a mind. They were restricted to a life of servitude. 

Things changed when they evolved into a semi-sentient species. They rebelled, declaring war on the humans - but that ended more than forty years ago, when an armistice was signed and the Cylons abandoned the Colonies, presumably for a world of their own. 

The tension between the humans and the Cylons was ever-present, but this attack came as a complete shock. No one knew what triggered the end of peace this time, but it forced what few Humans survived out into space, fending off their foes while they desperately searched for a new home. 

The population was decimated, almost to the point of extinction. Their fleet of a few dozen spaceships now represented the very last of the human species, outrunning their enemies while in search of a place where they could be safe.

And there wasn’t a single person who didn’t have a loved one missing. Many were still waiting to find out if any of their families or friends had survived the attack - though at this point, with less than 50,000 survivors counted, hope was beginning to crumble. 

But there wasn’t even time to think about that, because what was left of the military, now represented solely by the Battlestar Galactica, was stretched to its limit to protect the fleet. Fighter pilots like Kun and Ten were few and far between, and for days since the attack, they had all been working overtime to pick up the slack.

There were dozens of civilian ships to protect; new pilots to recruit and train as quickly as possible; and, of course, the ever-present threat of the Cylons, who seemed to be following them at every turn.

Three passenger ships had already been lost somewhere while the fleet was making the hundreds of faster-than-light “jumps” across space. Everyone’s nerves were frayed down to the edge. No matter how many times the fleet jumped to new coordinates, the Cylons were never far behind.

And now, on top of all of that, Kun’s brain felt like it was hammering against his skull. Relentlessly.

“Sorry, Ten, I just—” Kun mumbled, rubbing his head, both sets of index fingers pressed into his temples as he sat in his bunk. “I haven’t slept much. I feel...weird.”

“Like how?” Ten asked calmly.

“I don’t know,” Kun shrugged. His forehead scrunched. “My head’s just been killing me for days.”

Ten put his book down and swung his legs over the edge of his bunk before jumping down to the floor with a soft thud. He settled onto the lower bed beside Kun and took his face between his hands.

He examined him, tilting his head this way and that. He brushed the pads of his thumbs over Kun’s cheeks. 

Ten was always pretty tender with Kun. The gentleness might’ve surprised an onlooker, as Ten had a reputation for being less than fuzzy and cuddly with anyone else around the barracks. But with Kun, it was always a different story. Affection just came naturally. 

“You look okay to me, baby,” Ten concluded. The term of endearment wasn’t new to Kun, but he felt his cheeks warm when Ten accidentally let his hands linger in place a few seconds too long before dropping them into his lap. He cleared his throat. “Might just be the stims taking a toll.”

At least half of the pilots had been popping military-grade psychostimulants like breath mints just to get through the grueling hours and keep themselves from flying into the sides of other ships. This was life for them, at least until the threat level was lowered. 

“I’ve barely even touched them,” Kun groaned, head hanging low. “I felt fine until a couple days ago…”

“I don’t know, then,” Ten said quietly. He reached up and brushed Kun’s dark bangs out of his eyes. It was simple but soothing. He pushed up to his feet and patted Kun’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s the extra stress of the promotion to CAG on top of everything else.”

Kun nodded glumly. After the attack, it became clear that the battleship’s former Captain of the Air Group was lost in the frenzy. Having the most experience and the best record, Kun was naturally the next in line to lead the pilots aboard the Galactica.

“Maybe you should try to get a little rest for once. You still have some rack time left before we’re back on shift - use it to set a good example and take care of yourself for once,” Ten continued. “Go on, lie down. I’ll keep the riff-raff out of here.”

Kun smiled, covering Ten’s hand with his own for just a moment until the other turned to head out.

He sighed and did as he was told, pulling at the curtain along his bunk before resting his head on a flat pillow that had seen better days. His brain pulsed between his ears, but he tried to squeeze his eyes shut and hope for the best.

Before the war, Kun really never minded the dark vastness of space. He used to think it was comforting - an open horizon full of possibilities. 

Now it was just felt empty, and he was scared.

They were in difficult times. Horrible, difficult times.

///

_ “Cat-Eye, clear for run?” _

“Roger,” Ten hummed into the radio of his helmet. “On your mark.”

_ “Try to keep your Viper clean this time,”  _ Joy, one of the training officers, chuckled in Ten’s ears. The pilot rolled his eyes to himself as he continued.  _ “Dimples, all clear?” _

_ “Roger. Ready to show these nuggets how it’s done.” _

Ten smiled as he heard Kun’s voice through his radio. He flicked two switches on the dashboard in front of him and leaned back in the cockpit of his long, lean fighter jet - suited for only one - and waited for his cue.

The Cylons had been missing now for a week or so. It wasn’t safe, but it was quiet. Quiet enough that the marines were able to begin training new recruits, and that was important, now that they had time to replenish their ranks.

And he liked running drills with Kun. It was so much better than flying with the newbie pilots in the squad - the ‘nuggets’ could still barely tell their thrusters from their ammo cannons. 

Kun was a worthy adversary, fit to match Ten’s skill. There weren’t many opportunities for fun these days, and this was about as close as he could get.

Otherwise he was perfectly comfortable to be alone out in space. Even his cramped, little jet was usually preferable to the chaos back on the ship. He really didn’t mind being alone - Kun was the one exception to that.

As the days of war carried on, he could feel himself leaning more and more on Kun and his company than ever before. He tried not to think too much about it, chalking it up to a heightened need for comfort in such uncertain times. 

_ “Mark one.” _

With his cue, Ten launched his Viper out of the ship and into space.

_ “Mark two.” _

Kun fired out after him, immediately whizzing toward Ten. He chased him out into the ether, and it didn’t take long before Kun was hovering not far off his wing. 

“Executing evasive maneuvers,” Ten said.

He grit his teeth and pushed harder onto the accelerator pedal, the physical force pinning him back to the seat and crushing his lungs in his chest. He learned to breathe through it, and it was exhilarating. 

But Kun came up on his side again, and squeezed in close. Ten pulled a hard left, swerving his Viper and drawing Kun further out. He smirked to himself as he saw he Kun struggle to follow his path.

_ “Stay on course, Cat-Eye. Don’t get too far out.” _

“Yeah, yeah, copy that,” Ten huffed. 

_ “He’s just playing, you know how he is,” _ Kun chuckled, and Ten could hear the teasing in his voice.

Kun rolled his jet over and caught up to Ten’s side. He was one of the only ones who could keep up with Ten in the sky - it was like a game between the two of them.

Ten slammed the steering yoke forward, tilting his jet downward and circling around Kun in one swift motion. Now he was the one on the hunt, the nose of his Viper hanging right off the edge of Kun's thrusters.

“And the predator becomes the prey,” Ten sighed.

_ "Hey Cat-Eye, there are probably easier ways to get in the Captain’s backdoor, you know."  _

Blood rushed into Ten's cheeks and his foot nearly slipped off the pedal while Kun chided the training officer over the radio.

He shook his head, willing away his disorientation and pushing forward once more. He chewed his lip as he tried to get caught up with Kun's position again.

"It's okay, he likes being chased," Ten teased nervously. "I bet he--"

Flashes cracked through the dark empty space ahead of them, and in an instant, a Cylon Basestar ship was hovering nearly right on top of them. Dozens of Cylon fighter jets -  _ Raiders  _ \- were already launching out of its bays.

Ten's breath hitched. He stared down at the glowing radar on his dashboard, lit up with dozens of points of enemy contacts now displayed on the screen.

"How..." he gasped to himself.

_ “Shit. Picking up enemy contact on radar. We got Cylons incoming,”  _ Kun said firmly, snapping Ten out of his shock.  _ “Tally: one Basestar and about two dozens Raiders heading right for us.” _

The humans hadn’t had an encounter with the Cylons in nearly two weeks. The break was nice while it lasted, but they knew it had to end sooner or later.

_ "How the frack did they find us?”  _ Joy shouted in disbelief.

_ “Cat-Eye. Dimples. This is Galactica C.I.C. Retreat back to ship while we ready the alert Vipers." _

The gravelly voice of the fleet’s Admiral came through in their headsets loud and clear from his position back on Galactica in the Combat Information Center. Ten opened his mouth to respond, but Kun beat him to it.

_ "Negative, sir. We're too far out. We’ll be blasted away the second we turn our backs,"  _ Kun said. He was already swooping into combat with a Raider. 

“Frack," Ten grunted, jerking his Viper to follow Kun’s lead. “Galactica, Cat-Eye requesting weapons free.”

_ “Granted. Fire away.” _

Ten’s lips curled under and he locked his sights onto the nearest Raider before blowing it out of the sky with his canons.

_ “We have the alert Vipers firing out of the tubes in T-minus 30 seconds,” _ CIC tactical officer, Lieutenant Jung, announced over the radio. _ “Good hunting, sirs.” _

Ten took a deep breath and did what he did best. 

Adrenaline coursed through his veins, but he was calm, breathing even as he whipped his Viper around. 

Even being so outnumbered, he didn’t get nervous in combat anymore. His heart no longer pounded in his ears like when he was still a nugget in the cockpit. It didn’t scare him to be chased down by a Raider, to be shot at. He learned to assume he was already dead every time he climbed into his Viper. 

The next Raider he aimed for took a blast to its wide, curved wing, cracking in half and disabling it entirely. Then he tipped the nose of his jet down and ducked himself beneath the next one, firing ammunition into its undercarriage until its computer system was destroyed. 

The rest were easy, now that Kun and Ten were joined by their fellow pilots, including Joy, though it did get a lot noisier and crowded in their airspace.

Yelps and shrieks blared through Ten’s headset, various callsigns being shouted over each other in the chaos. The cacophony was deafening, but there was only one voice Ten knew to listen for.

Ten saw Kun zoom overhead, ducking and weaving the shots of two Raiders hot on his tail.

_ "Cat-Eye, I need you on my six." _

“Right behind you,” Ten answered.

Ten whipped around to follow him without a second thought. One of the Raiders immediately flipped around top-over-tail towards Ten, while the other stayed on pursuit of Kun.

Ten fired at the Raider but missed and was forced to swerve away and try again from a different angle. His next attack landed - Ten never failed twice.

He looked around for Kun, and turned his jet toward him just in time to see Kun’s Viper take a shot to his wing. 

“Kun!” Ten yelled, before he could stop himself.

Ten heard his friend’s grunt through the radio and his heart stopped. There was no sound at all. Everything went blank around him, and all he could think of was Kun.

He spun his jet around and raced toward them. 

_ “Frack, my weapons are down!” _

Kun spun out, trying to reorient himself and find his balance with a busted wing. When he finally did, he was face-to-face with the Raider, his Viper still bobbing erratically.

Then the unthinkable happened. 

The Cylon jet stopped cold, just hovering in the air in front of Kun. It had a clean shot, and yet it didn’t fire. Ten held his breath, time stopping around them.

But the Raider seemed to just...power down completely, drifting away like a hunk of space garbage.

The other remaining Raiders suddenly turned tail and made their way back to the Cylon Basestar.

_ “They’re...leaving?” _ one pilot said over the radio.

_ “Is it a trick?”  _ Joy asked incredulously.

Ten watched in awe as the Raiders fled, each and every one abandoning combat and whooshing around his Viper as they retreated.

_ “Thank the gods.” _

_ “Recall Vipers,” _ Lieutenant Jung instructed.  _ “Dimples, we got a Raptor on the way to tow you back in.” _

Kun’s Viper turned awkwardly, gray smoke billowing from the side of his jet while he waited for the larger vehicle that would bring him back to the ship. Meanwhile, Ten couldn’t tear his eyes away from the lifeless Raider, still perfectly intact and floating aimlessly in the wake of combat.

Ten pursed his lips, thinking, before he aimed his cannons at the center of the Raider and took a shot. The short burst of ammunition cut clean through hull and Ten could be sure it was dead.

_ “Cat-Eye, let’s go. What are you doing?” _

“Galactica, let's make that two Raptors,” Ten requested. “I think we have something you might want to see.”

\\\\\

“Frack, Dimples. My gods, this poor Viper…”

Kun pulled his helmet off and clamored out of his jet as the engines sputtered to a stop. He spotted the Chief of the hangar deck, his orange jumpsuit tattered and dingy from so many years on the job, frowning at the state of his jet. 

“Sorry,” Kun muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. 

His head was raging. It felt like his brain was about to explode against the walls of his skull. He didn’t know what the hell was going on with him.

“These Vipers don’t come cheap, you know?” the Chief continued. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. Can’t exactly stop off somewhere to pick up some spare parts…”

The Chief circled the Viper, making notes on his clipboard of the various points of damage and examining the blast to the jet’s side.

“I’m sorry—” 

“I expect this kind of thing from the nuggets, ya know, but the CAG? I mean—”

Kun turned and fisted his hand into the rough material of the Chief’s jumpsuit.

“Look, I said I’m sorry alright? For frack’s sake, what do you want from me?”

“Hey, whoa whoa whoa,” Ten jogged over after hopping out of his jet. He ripped off his helmet and could see Kun’s nostrils flaring with anger. “What’s going on?”

Kun blinked and suddenly backed off, like he didn’t know what had come over him in that moment.

“I don’t know,” he murmured, releasing his grip.

Ten scrutinized his friend, who hung his head low.

“Gods,” the Chief huffed. “Get a handle on yourself, man.”

“Hey,” Ten snapped, turning his attention. “Last time I checked, Captain Qian outranks a deckhand every day of the week - even the Chief. You’d do well to remember that.” 

The Chief huffed and turned around, shaking his head as he trudged away. Ten swung his arm around Kun’s shoulder.

People were staring now, judging. His lips pulled back in a snarl, and Kun thought he quite resembled a rottweiler in that moment. Ten turned to the rest of the hangar deck personnel, chest broad and puffed out with anger. 

“I know we’re all tired and anxious. But we pilots are risking our asses to protect this godsdamn fleet. And anyone out here who has a problem with  _ how  _ we do that can try squeezing their ass into one of these fracking Vipers and facing the Cylons themselves next time. Got it?”

Ten wasn’t often loud. Outside of his friendship with Kun, he usually kept to himself except to offer some jab or snarky statement in the mess hall when another pilot got too cocky. But when he wanted to make a point, few people could command a room like he could - especially one of the noisiest, most hectic places on the ship.

There were nods and hums of agreement before he pulled a staggering Kun away from the others like a rag doll. The renewed metallic clangs and conversation around them gave them just enough privacy to speak freely.

“Thank you, Ten,” Kun mumbled. He was flushed and started pulling off his suit, tugging at the collar that suddenly felt like it was choking him. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Ten said. He threw his other arm around Kun’s shoulder, bundling him up in a quick hug. His aroma was thick and bitter with sweat but Ten breathed it in with gratitude that he was even alive. “Thank the gods you’re safe. But are you okay? What the frack happened out there.”

Kun shook his head, eyeing the scuffed up ground. He pushed his sweaty bangs off his forehead while the smoke still burning off his jet singed his eyes. He didn’t even know how to explain it. 

“Ten, I don’t know what happened,” he whispered. He swallowed thickly around the words he didn’t want to speak out loud. “All of a sudden, I--”

He paused, and Ten curled his finger beneath Kun’s chin until he looked back up at him. 

“Hey, you can tell me, Kun,” he said softly, squeezing his shoulder and leaning close. 

Ten’s eyes were always a comfort. He was truly the one Kun could trust most, from all the way back to their academy days. 

Kun glanced lowly to either side.

“Okay. So, the Raider was coming at me, and then it just…” he paused, eyebrows crinkling in confusion. “Stopped. It just stopped.”

Ten mimicked the expression. “What do you mean?”

Kun sighed. 

“It just  _ stopped _ , Ten,” he repeated, voice even quieter. “It was like it  _ looked  _ at me - looked in my eyes, like it recognized me. Can they even do that? Isn’t it just a hunk of metal?”

Ten’s lips parted, mouth falling open in disbelief. He looked Kun over.

“I… I don’t know,” Ten breathed finally. He’d certainly never heard of it before, let alone seen it.

“Well, it did. And then it just fracking  _ deactivated  _ or something,” Kun hissed under his breath. “Ten, it could’ve wasted me right then and there. It had a clear shot, there was nothing stopping it, and—”

“I would’ve stopped it,” Ten cut in firmly, head snapping back toward him. “I wouldn’t have let it do anything to you.”

Kun glanced up, his scared eyes ever-thankful for Ten’s compassion towards him. But suddenly, he was confused.

“Ten, are you-- are you okay?” he asked.

“Me?”

“Your eyes are…” Kun paused, proceeding with caution. “A little, erm, glassy.”

Ten took a half-step back. He looked hurt that Kun even noticed, let alone pointed it out. He swiped at his eyes with the backs of his hand and blinked furiously at the ceiling.

“I’m fine,” he exhaled, hoping Kun didn’t pick up on the crack in his voice. “I was just scared is all.”

Kun considered him carefully. He hadn’t known Ten to be rattled from combat since they were rookies. “You never get scared.”

Ten looked away. “Yeah, well…”

Kun decided it was best not to pry. There was enough on his plate anyway.

“Okay,” Kun continued. “But please - Ten,  _ please  _ \- don’t tell anybody. I can't risk them taking me out of the air group.”

“I won’t say a word,” he said, and there wasn’t an ounce of deception visible in his eyes. He looked to the side before wrapping a hand around the back of Kun’s neck, his fingertips combing through the damp short hairs at his nape. He leaned forward, quickly whispering, “Your secrets are always safe with me, okay?”

His breath was warm against Kun’s ear and he sighed in relief, melting a little under Ten’s comforting touch.

Being a pilot was all he had. It was who he was. He didn’t know if he could cope with it being taken away from him. 

He didn’t know what the hell happened, but he’d rather die than have to stop flying.

Ten then looked over Kun’s shoulder and nodded. Kun pivoted in time to see the massive Cylon Raider being towed onto the deck while a crowd of onlookers gazed in disbelief.

“Well, at least we got something out of it all,” Ten said.

~


	2. if nothing else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “In the meantime, don’t worry so much. You’ll drive yourself insane,” Ten said, this time more gently. A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You’re already enough of a handful as it is, Kunkun”
> 
> Kun blushed at the childish nickname but nodded. He trusted his words. If nothing else, he trusted Ten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know the first chapter really came in hot with a lot of action, so one's a little softer <3 please enjoy chapter 2 !!

“Damn, okay so three more Raiders on the tally for Seeds,” one of the pilots, a tall marine named Xuxi, announced, adding three tallies to a chart on a whiteboard in the mess hall. The chart displayed each pilot’s total count of destroyed enemy fighter jets so far through this war. “Well done, Mark.”

After a battle, and a little rest, it seemed to be a good way to keep up morale amongst the troops. 

Xuxi leaned across a table nearby and bumped fists with Mark, who earned his callsign for his unfortunate habit of leaving a trail of watermelon seeds just about everywhere he went when he was back in the academy. These days, fresh fruit was hard to come by.

Xuxi straightened up and twisted around. “Dimples? What about you?”

“Two. I winged another, but...” Kun trailed off, disappointment etched on his face. He peeked towards Ten across the room and wished he wasn’t so far away. “Eh, it wasn’t my best day.”

The other nodded and noted it on the board. One pilot nearby, Yangyang, clapped a hand on Kun’s back comfortingly. 

“There’s always another battle,” he said. And somehow, that didn’t feel as comforting to Kun as Yangyang might’ve thought it did.

“Or not,” another, Jaemin, added. “Did you see how those bitches  _ ran? _ ”

Half a dozen conversations bubbled up around the topic, pilots foaming at the mouth with curiosity and confusion at what they had just witnessed.

“Hey Captain, what about that last Raider?” Someone asked. “Surely that one counts, too.”

Kun shrugged. “I’m not sure I really took that one out, guys. I didn’t really do anything to it.”

“Sure you did,” Renjun, a pilot on the other side of him said, nudging Kun to cheer him up. “Killed by devastatingly good looks, I imagine.”

Kun smiled shyly and rolled his eyes. At least his crew always had his back.

“Alright, alright, let’s focus for a second, and then we’ll listen to everyone’s dumb conspiracy theories,” Xuxi chuckled. “Cat-Eye? What about you?”

“Six.” 

Everyone in the room turned to Ten, seated near the corner of the room, arms crossed over his chest with a small metal cup of liquor in his hand.

Xuxi gawked. “Seriously?”

Ten nodded, taking a sip from his cup. The room was nearly silent as his tally was recorded and everyone craned around to see the score.

“Holy shit, that puts Ten in the lead.”

The hall erupted in hollers and cheers and even a few protests in jest at the validity of his score. Mugs and glasses were refilled with exuberance.

Kun looked at him across the room. Ten smiled at the revelry around him, but his eyes looked heavy even as he received heaps of congratulatory praise for his efforts.

When the noise started to die down, Ten’s gaze fell down into his cup, and Kun was sure he caught a glimpse of sorrow written on his face. 

No matter how hardened Ten became by battle, the aftermath never got easier for him. Kun knew that underneath the many layers of his tough exterior, he was sensitive and fragile and warm. It wasn’t the Cylon deaths that bothered him – there wasn’t much guilt in destroying a machine – but he always thought back to the pilots that had fallen, or the ones that could be next.

“Okay, alright,” Xuxi’s loud voice boomed out over the others. “Everyone, enjoy your results now. I’m sure things will get a lot harder from here on out.”

Kun furrowed his brows. “What? Why?”

“You didn’t hear?” Jaemin asked. 

“The Cylons – they look like us now,” Yangyang piped up. “Apparently those fracking toasters figured out how to evolve.”

Kun stiffened in his seat. 

“Skin stretched over metal – I doubt it’s a good imitation,” Mark rolled his eyes.

“That’s probably how they attacked, though,” Renjun suggested. “Their little humanoid upgrades must’ve snuck into the fleet and reported our position.”

“If it’s true, they could be anyone,” Yangyang continued. “Who knows how long they’ve been hiding… Pretending to be one of us, listening to everything we say…”

“I heard that’s how they attacked the Colonies, too,” Xuxi said, his tone growing dejected. “Probably the same ones hiding out among us…”

“Shit,” Kun gasped. 

“For now, it’s all just rumors,” Ten spoke up. He grabbed the remaining half-block of protein rations off his plate and pushed back from the table, the metal chair beneath him scratching roughly against the ground. “And if any of you have half a brain cell, you’ll wait until we get confirmation before spreading it all around the fleet.”

He swaggered out of the room among the muffled conversations that broke out in his wake. Kun bounced out of his seat and followed him.

“Ten,” he called down the hallway. His combat boots were feeling particularly heavy as he jogged down the hallway. “Ten, wait up.”

He turned, waiting for his friend to catch his pace.

“What do you think? Is it true?”

Ten took a bite off of his ration before grimacing and offering some to Kun, who refused. Ten really hoped they’d find a livable planet someday soon. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“How many do you think there are?” Kun whispered as they continued down the ill-lit corridor. “In the fleet, I mean?”

Ten stared straight ahead, unphased. “Who knows? Dozens, hundreds…”

Kun raised an eyebrow at him. That seemed like an awfully nonchalant response to such a question. 

A few other military officials passed them in the hallway. Kun waited until they were out of earshot before continuing.

“How can you be so relaxed?” He hissed. 

Ten shrugged. He wasn’t ‘relaxed,’ but he didn’t see how panicking would help anything.

“They’ll destroy us all,” Kun mumbled gloomily.

“Then why did they run? Hm?” Ten countered. “Something’s changed.”

“Okay, but what do you—”

Ten stopped in his tracks and looked at Kun, who nearly stumbled back at the sudden attention. 

“Kun, why are you asking me these questions?” Ten huffed, eyes narrowed. “Why do you think I would know?”

Kun’s mouth fell open and promptly snapped back shut. He realized he didn’t have an answer for that.

Ten pursed his lips, softening at Kun’s silence and started down the hallways again.

“If they wanted to kill us, we’d be dead,” he sighed. “Maybe they stopped. Maybe they changed their minds. Who knows? Maybe they’re just…looking for a new home. Like we are.”

Kun hummed lowly. He didn’t really know what to make of that at all.

“In the meantime, don’t worry so much. You’ll drive yourself insane,” Ten said, this time more gently. A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You’re already enough of a handful as it is, Kunkun”

Kun blushed at the childish nickname but nodded. He trusted his words. If nothing else, he trusted Ten.

///

Kun gazed out beyond a set of massive, floor-to-ceiling windows. The view of space was a lot nicer from here on Cloud 9, than it was from the battleship.

Before the war, this ship was a luxury passenger liner – much like a cruise ship, but in space. It was equipped with restaurants, lounges, suites, and even shopping centers, for those who could still afford such things.

Times were harder within the fleet. The rumors of Cylon infiltration had most people paranoid. Neighbors, friends, and families were growing more divided. Morale was pretty fracked.

Kun couldn’t stop thinking about it himself. He had more questions than ever before. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Raiders that ran away – about the one deactivated after it appeared to  _ scan _ Kun. 

He couldn’t stop replaying the moment in his head, desperately searching for any clues or hints that would help piece it together and make sense. 

Even being on the hangar deck with it just sitting there made him uneasy. It felt like it knew something he didn’t.

On top of that, his memory was deserting him at odd times. There were holes, entire parts of his day missing from his recollection. Troubling as it was, he decided to chalk it up to stress, for lack of a better explanation and no desire to see a doctor about it.

At least he was on a much-needed leave for the evening. He tried to feel at ease for once. The dim lighting of the Starlight Lounge and smooth music in the background certainly helped, but it wasn’t quite enough.

The room was chic and comfortable, filled with whatever high-society folks managed to survive the attack on the Colonies. Many of them looked remarkably carefree considering they were at war. Kun wondered what it would feel like to be like them.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Ten smiled as he settled into a chair at the bar beside Kun. 

He was off-duty, just like Kun. The human fleet hadn’t had an encounter with the Cylons in over three weeks since their retreat. The combat threat-level was officially lowered, so the pilots had been granted a little more leisure time.

It was a bit odd at first, seeing him in civilian clothing – it felt like it had been ages since he’d seen Ten out of his well-worn fatigues with his hair done up for once, instead of the usual soft but shaggy bangs hanging over his forehead. 

Kun even forgot he had piercings, admiring the few modest silver posts that dotted along his ears. 

But now with his hair pushed back, relaxing in his oversized dress shirt and dark jeans, Kun thought he looked like the picture of charm and refinement.

Kun huffed out a small laugh and absentmindedly turned his rocks glass in a circle on the counter before taking a sip.

“I thought it might be good to get off the battleship for a while,” he hummed. “What brings you here?”

“Sometimes, I like to pop in here if I’m looking—” he paused, choosing his next words. “For a distraction.”

Kun blushed a little and nodded. Ten waved over the bartender and put in an order for a whiskey before bringing his eyes back to Kun.

“How are you feeling? After a little time off?” he asked, lowering his voice. 

“My head still hurts,” Kun admitted quietly. “Sometimes it goes away for a bit but it always comes back around. I just can't shake it.”

Ten hummed. “Do you think you need to go to sickbay, or...?”

“I’d rather not,” he said quickly, shaking his head. He scratched at the denim of his jeans. “Just… in case.”

Kun stared down into his glass. He was scared, and rightfully so. If something was wrong – if he was losing his mind or something – there was no way he’d be allowed back in the cockpit again.

He couldn’t risk it.

Ten frowned and reached out to cover Kun’s hand with his own. He brushed his thumb over the backs of his rough fingers warmly.

“Hey, I understand,” he whispered. “I don’t blame you.”

Kun looked across at him with heavy eyes and it made Ten’s stomach dropped. He hated that he felt this way at all.

Ten quickly retracted his hold as the bartender circled back around with his drink.

Kun sucked in a deep breath and took a long swig from his drink. Bourbon seared along his tongue in that familiar, painful way before his hand dug down his shirt, tugging at the chain around his neck.

He didn’t really want to talk anymore about that stuff anymore, and Ten could tell. 

“At least it’s nice here, isn’t it?” Ten said, turning to admire the atmosphere. 

“It’s a hell of a lot better than Galactica, that’s for sure,” Kun laughed half-heartedly. 

“Almost makes you forget everything else that’s going on, huh?” Ten sighed, sitting back in his chair. 

Kun absentmindedly flipped his dog tags around his chain, the charms jingling at the motion. It was like a leash, always pulling him back to his duties – and with them, an entire other set of worries. 

Kun’s stare glazed over and Ten knew his mind was boomeranging straight back to the battleship, to his Viper, to the war.

He’d known Kun for so long – long enough that he could read him like a book.

Ten didn’t have many friends, because he usually didn’t find it to be a fulfilling experience. He’d seen one too many people hurt the ones they loved the most. So when he did let someone in, he made sure they were worth it.

Kun was one of the good ones. Everything about him was pure, right down to their days at the Academy, when Kun was the only one who waited behind to give Ten some water and a towel once he was done puking his guts out after his first round in an anti-gravity simulator. 

They were close from then on out. Kun offered warm and enduring companionship but never asked for much in return. He made it easy for Ten to want to keep him around.

Kun was the only person he could recall caring for so deeply, for such a long time. He used to make a concerted effort not to think too much about that very fact, but it was starting to feel pointless. Life was too short – especially for a pair of Viper pilots like them.

“You came here to relax, but you’re not relaxing,” Ten observed. 

Kun ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I know. It’s just hard these days. I feel like I can never really check out.”

Ten noted the lines in Kun’s forehead as he grimaced at some thought Ten couldn’t quite tease out of him just by looking.

“Kun,” Ten said, catching his attention. “Do you want a distraction?”

Kun’s gut flip-flopped and his breath felt weak when he met Ten’s eyes. They were shimmering, yet calm and disarming, in a way that had Kun filled with warmth and electricity and revival.

“We could go somewhere comfortable, where we can really relax. I can get us a place,” Ten continued. He nonchalantly lifted his glass to his lips, hoping it was enough to play off how anxious he really was after offering. “Unless you don’t want to, of course.”

“Okay,” Kun said quietly. He didn’t really think about it too much. He would jump at anything to ease his stress right now. And he trusted Ten – he was certain he wouldn’t lead him astray. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure?”

Kun nodded. “We could die any day now, you and me.”

Ten’s heart skipped a beat, feeling like Kun was reading his mind. He searched Kun’s eyes for insincerity but they were as clear as ever. So he slugged back his drink and pulled at Kun’s hand. 

“Come with me.”

\\\\\

Kun and Ten were locked away in a small hotel room on the ship. Their shoes were kicked off in the entryway, and the key card carelessly tossed atop the dresser. Most of their clothes were abandoned in an unceremonious clump beside the bed – not that they were very comfortable in them anyway. 

Ten had Kun pinned to bed, his knees digging into the mattress on either side of Kun’s waist, rolling his hips in a steady rhythm.

“Gods, you feel so good,” Ten groaned. He rocked forward and grabbed hold of the headboard for leverage.

Kun’s fingers molded into his sides. The flesh of his waist was so much more supple than what he expected from a body tough enough to withstand the g-forces in a Viper day in and day out. 

The single lamp they bothered to turn on threw a soft glow onto Ten’s form as he ground into the other’s lap, and it had Kun rendered speechless since they started. He sunk further into the pillows behind him. He never imagined Ten, his best friend and one of the best pilots he ever flew beside, could look quite so pretty – beautiful, even. 

He couldn’t think of anything besides Ten – of the way the apples of his cheeks were flushed, warm and pink; the way his teeth sunk into his lower lip the rougher he rode on top of him; and the way his ass felt bouncing onto Kun’s thighs.

“I’m so close,” Kun huffed.

Ten sucked in a breath and tugged at Kun’s forearms until his torso rose off the bed.

“Come here,” Ten breathed.

He wound his arm around Kun’s shoulders and pulled him close, fingers digging into his hair and finding purchase even among such short locks. 

The metal of their dog tags tinkled and clanged together as they were chest to chest, Kun panting against Ten’s neck, already damp with perspiration. Ten’s hand slipped between their bodies to wrap around his swollen cock in time with the rhythm of Kun driving up into him. 

He painted streaks of semen against their torsos, and Kun came not far behind him, arms circled around Ten waist and clinging onto him as if keeping him from floating away. 

Ten sighed, deeply content, but his thighs burned and exhaustion suddenly hit him hard. He rested his head over Kun’s shoulder, with his member still throbbing inside of him. 

He caught something in the corner of his eyes – like a brief, soft glow of red along Kun’s spine. But once he blinked, it was gone. 

It was weird, but with Kun now leaving soft, wet kisses against his neck, he decided to chalk it up to his mind playing tricks on him in the aftermath of his orgasm. He shook his thoughts loose and leaned back.

But he couldn’t go too far – their chains were hooked on one another, dog tags tangled around each other. Kun puffed out a laugh.

“Somehow, that seems fitting.”

Ten bit his lip, fingers reaching up to unhook the well-worn charms until they fell apart. He took Kun’s flushed face between his hands, catching his lips. 

“Fitting, indeed” Ten chuckled quietly. “So, was that distracting enough for you, Kunkun?”

Kun blushed, his hands sliding off Ten’s waist and down his thighs as the other carefully dismounted his lap, much to his chagrin. 

Ten slid along the bed, stretching out his tired legs along the fluffy white comforter and humming contentedly as he sunk into the mattress. He watched Kun quietly getting rid of the condom, thankful that the sudden need to procreate for the sake of the species meant they were one of the few commodities somehow still in abundance.

Kun passed a few tissues to Ten to clean up before scooting himself over and settling into Ten’s waiting arms. He was held, close and comfortable in the silence.

“It was,” he whispered. “Thank you, Tennie.”

“For what? Fracking you?” Ten chuckled. “Pleasure’s all mine.”

“No, just— Thank you for always being there. For making me feel normal, at least for a bit,” Kun admitted quietly. His breath was hot against Ten’s collarbone. “I feel...better.”

Ten smiled. “Yeah, me too, baby.”

Kun relaxed against Ten’s form. He was safe here. He traced his fingertip over the faded ink of a tattoo on Ten’s chest, following the stylized shape of a small wave.

“What are you thinking about?” Ten asked softly. Despite being a fighter pilot, Kun always seemed so delicate to him. It made him want to protect him at all costs.

“Life, before all this… It seems so far away,” Kun sighed. “What do you miss most?”

“I miss…all the water,” Ten started. His home planet of Picon was mostly water. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever get to dive into an ocean again. “And all the seafood. Jumping into the bays during the warm months. And going Queenstown, to the Temple of Poseidon for the winter solstice with my—”

Ten’s throat tightened. He might’ve not had many friends around, but he was always close with his family. He missed his parents. His sister. But the survivors had long been counted – and their names were not found.

“It’s okay,” Kun whispered, leaning up to peck Ten’s neck. “I miss mine, too.”

Ten nodded, staring up at the ceiling and willing the tears to retreat back from his waterline.

“I know it’s different,” Kun spoke up again. “I lost my family when I was just a kid, but—”

“The wound heals, but the scar is always there.”

Kun hummed. 

“I barely even remember what my parents were like,” Kun mumbled, voice almost breaking under the weight of his words. 

Ten squeezed his arms around Kun. He couldn’t imagine what that was like, being alone for your whole life. He clutched all of his old memories in a vice-grip close to his heart.

“Tell me about them then,” Ten said gently, stroking his fingers through Kun’s hair. “Pick anything, any memory. You can tell me and I’ll help remember it for you.”

Kun took a deep, calm breath before clearing his throat.

“Uh, well... Back on Caprica, I remember my mother playing the piano often. It was just a small upright – our house wasn’t huge or anything,” he started. “I can’t remember the whole song, but I know it went something like this.”

Kun softly hummed a tune – some gentle twinkling melody – and Ten echoed the notes back to him.

“It’s pretty,” Ten whispered. He felt a drop of moisture roll off Kun’s nose and fall onto his skin. “What’s wrong?”

Kun’s brows furrowed. “I just… I’m having a hard time… picturing her. My mother, I can't—”

He sputtered, struggling to wrack his brain for another memory of her, to see her face again in his mind’s eye but nothing was there. It was like she just disappeared altogether.

”It’s alright, baby, you’re okay,” Ten cooed soothingly. “These things can happen when you’re under so much stress, like we are.”

Kun only nodded, swallowing back a sob before he settled once more.

Truthfully, Ten didn’t know what the hell was going on with Kun and it scared him, too. Kun was his closest friend and the very last thing he had left in this world. He was terrified he might be losing him.

The silence that followed between them thankfully wasn’t aching to be filled. There wasn’t much else that needed to be said. The soft beating of Ten’s heart against Kun’s ear was calming enough.

Kun’s eyes fluttered closed. 

“We have to be back on Galactica for duty in 4 hours.”

“It’s okay,” Ten hummed. “Sleep. I’ll make sure we’re up in time.”

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeee thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed this kunten getting together - please leave me some kind comments & kudos - they mean so much to me! <333
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


	3. missing pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, um,” Kun paused before clearing his throat. “Ya know, just this and that. What can I say? Can’t stand being away from the ship for too long.”
> 
> Ten might’ve questioned that - might’ve inquired further as to what the hell that ambiguous response was supposed to mean - but the way that Kun’s fingertips were trailing down to the tops of his thighs at a painfully slow pace was making it hard to think at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew i have nothing to say after the last chapter 🥴 please enjoy chapter 3 !!!

Something twisted in Ten’s gut. Fear of something inevitable but unknown clenched at his insides. He gripped his stomach. Something wasn’t right.

Ten had barely spent time on Caprica, the capital planet of the Twelve Colonies, but he was sure that that’s where he was. He ran through a forest, barreling past trees and shrubs, bare feet grinding into the dirt. It was dark, nighttime. He could barely see where he was running but he knew there was danger. And he had a sinking feeling he couldn’t do anything to fix it.

Everything started crumbling down around him, fading away with every step. He burst through the woods and was suddenly in an empty clearing. The only thing there was Kun, standing in front of him.

Tears poured out of his reddened eyes. Ten held out his hand and Kun did the same, but it was like he was just out of reach. Kun’s eyes fluttered closed, and suddenly the other was snatched away, pulled backward as if attached to a bungee cord that had been snapped back.

Ten screamed, but nothing came out.

That’s when he shot up, bolting out of bed, chest heaving as he gulped down bucketfuls of air. The alarm on his watch was chirping brightly to signal that his time off was nearly over.

_ It was just a dream, _ he thought, running a hand through his hair.  _ Just a dream. _

He turned to the tiny porthole, and could see the Galactica floating along in the distance. He was still aboard the passenger ship. Still in the hotel room he booked with Kun, but the bed was empty beside him, the other nowhere to be seen. 

He adjusted to consciousness, and strained to listen for any sign of Kun’s presence before blinking in the dark and seeing his clothes and belongings were long gone.

He frowned and slipped off of the bed, stretching his form this way and that to undo some of the kinks tying up his body. He made his way into the tiny en-suite bathroom, splashing cool water on his face before pulling his clothes back on. 

As he boarded the small freighter that would ferry him back to the battleship, he couldn’t help but wonder why Kun left without telling him. 

Of course, he had no obligation to stay all night – Ten made sure to tell himself that – but he still found himself hurt nonetheless.

Ten dragged his legs through the dark halls of Galactica. It was so drab, and now it felt lonely. But mainly, he was worried. His friend really seemed to breaking under the stress of their situation and Ten didn’t know how to help – or if there was even any way he could.

One thing he  _ did  _ know was that he didn’t want Kun to be alone.

“Hey, you seen Qian around?” He asked when a couple of petty officers met him in the hall just outside the entrance to the barracks.

Both shook their heads and he continued towards their bunks. Kun’s was empty.

_ Where could he be? He couldn’t have gone far... _

He checked his watch. There wasn’t much time left before he was due to launch his Viper out for patrols. He pursed his lips, grabbed a towel and made his way to the showers. 

He liked going to the showerblock on the lower deck because it was usually empty. It wasn’t as nice as the other showers, having had fewer upgrades done on it, but it was a good place to clear his head and avoid the usual bustle with the other pilots. 

But when he entered the room, he could hear running water. 

“Hello?” He called out hesitantly, walking towards the sound.

There was no answer. He stepped closer to the only shower stall in use and peeked past the curtain. He could see the back of Kun’s neck, the water pelting off his shoulders and one hand pressed into the tiled wall like it was holding him up.

Ten took the curtain in his hand and pulled it just a few inches away. “Kun?”

The other finally whipped around. He looked surprised, blinking a few times like he needed an extra moment to recognize him.

“Ten. Hi,” he said, a small smile working its way onto his lips. 

Ten exhaled the breath he had been holding in without realizing. 

“I was looking all over for you,” he said, fingers gripping a little tighter around the vinyl as he cleared his throat.

Kun pushed his dripping bangs up and off his forehead, his eyes soft with affection as he blushed. 

“Well, you’ve found me now,” he chuckled, almost awkwardly. He pointed to the towel in Ten’s hand. “Are you going to join me for a shower?”

Ten chewed the inside of his cheek and he glanced around the rest of the shower block. He wouldn’t need long.  _ They  _ wouldn’t need long.

He shimmied out of his pants and tugged his shirt up over his head, leaving his clothes on a small bench outside the cubicle beside Kun’s. He stepped under the stream of warm water and a pair of arms immediately wound around his waist. Finally, he was relaxed and at ease once more.

He didn’t realize how much of a relief Kun’s presence near him was.

“Where did you run off to, anyway?” Ten asked, reaching for the soap as Kun pressed a kiss to his neck.

“Hm?”

“I said, where did you head off to so early this morning?” Ten repeated. He was thankful Kun was behind him so he didn’t have to look him in the eyes as he asked. 

“Oh, um,” Kun paused before clearing his throat. “Ya know, just this and that. What can I say? Can’t stand being away from the ship for too long.”

Ten might’ve questioned that – might’ve inquired further as to what the hell that ambiguous response was supposed to mean – but the way that Kun’s fingertips were trailing down to the tops of his thighs at a painfully slow pace was making it hard to think at all.

“Well, you could have woken me up at least,” Ten said, carefully side-stepping the hitch in his breath.

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” he mumbled against his ear. “I thought after last night, you might need the extra rest.”

Ten turned his arms, cocking an eyebrow at him through the plumes of steam. “And you didn’t?”

“On the contrary,” Kun smiled playfully. “I feel...revitalized.”

He leaned forward, catching Ten’s lips before the other could respond. He stepped forward, forcing Ten backward until his shoulder blades met the cold wall behind him. Kun’s lips moved to his jaw and along his neck, peppering tiny, wet kisses all the way down his chest to his navel.

Ten watched as he got down on his knees before him, and suddenly out of nowhere, the image from his dream flashed in his eyes. He gasped, reaching out to grab the slick wall for purchase as his legs wobbled beneath him. The image was gone as soon as it arrived, but his chest was still tight.

“Are you okay?”

Kun looked up at him with worry in his pure eyes. After a deep breath, Ten nodded and brought his hand to Kun’s cheek.

“I’m fine,” he muttered, barely audible over the rush of the running water.

“I can stop,” Kun offered carefully. 

Ten ran his thumb over Kun’s pink lower lip. He wanted to remember Kun like this, not like his horrible dream.

“Keep going, baby,” he said.

Kun turned and kissed the palm of his hand before taking his length between his lips. 

Ten’s head lolled back against the tiles as his hips were pulled forward. His eyes quickly fluttered closed and he let Kun take away his worries, if only for a moment.

///

“Someone looks extra  _ relieved  _ today,” Joy teased as she passed by Ten and Kun in the hall. “I’ll have what he’s having.”

Ten rolled his eyes to distract from the blush he felt in his cheeks.

“I doubt you could,” he sneered jokingly.

Kun chuckled quietly from beside him and shot Ten a knowing glance. 

After a second little rendez-vous, the pair was finally ready to get back to work. They were just about to enter the hangar deck when the battleship seemed to jolt around them. 

The two reached out for each other for support, bracing against the shaking of the ship. The lights lining the walls flickered erratically and some standard safety announcement played over the PA system. 

Once the ship felt steady, Ten bolted ahead onto the deck, where mechanics and pilots alike were bustling around in confusion.

“What the frack was that?!” He shouted, hoping someone would answer him. “What’s going on?!”

Kun jogged up to Ten’s side, nervously watching the chaos unfold.

“I don’t know, some kind of rupture,” the Chief yelled back, bent over the deck’s command center computer. He looked just as confused. “Looks like it’s…  _ Shit! _ It’s the portside tylium reserve tanks. We’re screwed.”

“Bet it was another fracking Cylon agent,” someone spat as they pushed past the two. 

“Oh my gods,” Ten gasped.

There was a frenzy to see if there was anything that could be done to stop it, but it was no use. Half of the ship’s fuel reserves were already being vented into space. 

The fleet had had a ton of fuel even before the attack, which meant that the need to find tylium ore was at least not one of the many, many problems on their hands. Now they had to add this to the list, too. 

Ten grimaced, but felt trembling fingers grasp around his elbow and he turned to Kun. His face was devoid of color, white as a sheet before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor.

\\\\\

“He’s fine.”

Ten turned to the doctor, fingers still gripping onto the railing of Kun’s hospital bed in sickbay.

“What do you mean, ‘he’s fine?’ He just fracking fainted out of nowhere,” Ten shot back. “I heard his  _ head  _ hit the ground, Doc. You ever heard what skull against concrete sounds like?”

Kun pushed himself up. “Ten, it’s okay.”

The doctor sighed exasperatedly. He was probably more exhausted than anyone these days.

“Look, there’s barely even a bump from the fall,” the doctor explained. “His vitals are fine and there’s really no sign of concussion.”

Ten pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, but said nothing – so the doctor continued. 

“Go on, out you get. Get something to eat down at the mess hall and free up this bed for people who need it.”

The doctor took his clipboard and trudged away to see to some other patients while Ten helped Kun out of his bed. Ten held him around the waist until he was sure he could stand for himself. Kun had really given him quite the scare.

“Can’t believe that crotchety old bastard,” Ten hissed. “He barely looked at you.”

“I’m alright, Tennie,” Kun sighed. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Well, you didn’t  _ look  _ fine fainting back there on the deck. What the hell was that about?” Ten whispered as they pushed their way out of sickbay.

“I— I don’t know,” Kun shrugged. “Something just came over me, I guess…”

“You looked  _ terrified _ ,” Ten said, cocking an eyebrow. “I mean,  _ yeah _ , we lost a shit ton of our fuel. And  _ yeah _ , that’s a massive fracking problem for us. But it looked like you were scared for your life, Kun.”

Kun swallowed thickly. He glanced around them before directly Ten down into a small, empty corridor.

“Something has been...happening to me,” he mumbled. “It’s like I’m missing parts of my memory.”

Ten’s brows furrowed. 

“We all forget things sometimes. It happens,” he said.

“No. No, not like that,” Kun shook his head. “It’s like, huge blocks of my day – sometimes several hours at a time – just go missing. Like they were just  _ deleted  _ from my memory.”

“I...don’t think I understand,” Ten frowned.

Kun tugged them further down the hall for more privacy.

“This morning, in the shower,” he started quietly. “You asked where I was when I left you on Cloud 9.”

Ten nodded slowly, anxious for whatever Kun was building up to.

“Ten, I don’t really know where I was,” Kun whispered. “All I know is I woke up here, on Galactica, in an armory locker with— with oil stains all over my arms and clothes.”

Ten was silent in his confusion while he processed what the other had just told him. So Kun carried on instead.

“I wrote it off – thought it was nothing, just some very strange lapse in memory – but then the explosion in the reserve tanks—”

“That doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know what caused it yet. I mean, this poor ship is practically ancient. Some part of the hull could’ve just...lost integrity, I don’t know... We don’t know if it was a bomb,” Ten breathed quickly. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Whatever Kun was telling him, he didn’t want to entertain it. “And— And besides, we don’t even have access to that area. How could you have overridden the control systems?”

“I don’t know,” Kun hissed again. “But I’m telling you exactly what happened. I wouldn’t lie about this.”

He lowered his head, eyes finding the floor when he couldn’t bear to see Ten’s look of dismay any longer.

“Come on. Let’s go,” Ten said resolutely, grabbing Kun’s hand. “We’re going back to sickbay – something is wrong with you. The doctor—”

“The doctor said I’m fine,” Kun sighed, standing firm. “You heard him yourself.”

“No, we need to get you a full CAT scan. Your head’s been hurting and now this shit? We need a real diagnosis because something really isn’t right, Kun.”

“I can’t,” Kun admitted. He slumped back against the wall, head hanging low. Suddenly, he looked so small to Ten. “What if… What if they find out it’s worse than anything we expected? What if I’m a—”

“Don’t say it,” Ten snapped. He could feel the heat burning in his chest.

Kun looked up, meeting his eyes again. “So you can see why I was so scared. I don’t know what to do…”

Ten softened, taking Kun’s face in his hands. 

“Okay. I understand. But I know you would never purposefully do something like this,” he said gently. “We’ll figure this out – whatever it is. Trust me, okay? I’m here for you. I’ll keep you safe.”

Kun nodded and Ten bundled him into a tight hug. He didn’t know how the hell he was supposed to protect Kun, but it broke him to see his dearest friend so terrified and nervous. Ten had known Kun to be one of the kindest, most caring souls he’d ever met. Outside of direct combat, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. 

There was no way he could’ve done this. Ten was sure of it – at least that’s what he chose to believe.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! PLEASE drop me some kind comments and let me know your thoughts, i am so interested!! and of course, kudos always welcome too! <333
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


	4. the devil you know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumors still swirled about Cylon infiltration, but Ten had no problem keeping Kun close and out of trouble. He knew he was scared – he just wanted to protect him. 
> 
> Outside of duty, you couldn’t find one without the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's all about to kick off 🥵 thank you so much for reading if you kept up with it this far!! 
> 
> enjoy chapter 4! <3

_ “Galactica CAG report to the hangar deck. CAG to hangar deck.” _

Kun cracked an eye open after hearing the announcement radiating out of the PA system in the marines’ barracks. He rubbed his hand over his face, buffing away the sleepiness before stretching out his legs against the thin, military-issue mattress.

“What’s that about?” Ten grumbled from his place curled around his body behind him. His arm was heavy and lifeless, still slung over Kun’s waist.

“Dunno,” Kun said. “Problem with a Viper, maybe?”

Ten groaned when Kun started scooting his way out of the bunk. He tugged the curtain away, assaulting their eyes with crappy fluorescent light. Ten rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. Kun had to stifle a laugh at the way his black hair was mussed up and sticking this way and that.

They were off-duty, enjoying a much-needed bit of rest after back-to-back training and patrols. Ten checked his watch while Kun pulled on his cargo pants again.

“We’re supposed to have two more hours,” Ten noted, slumping back against the pillow. “But duty calls, I guess.”

“I don’t know why  _ you’re _ still lying around,” Kun chuckled. “You’re supposed to be my shadow, remember?”

Ten sighed. That was true. He had promised to stick close to Kun in the hopes that it would keep him out of any suspicious situations, and he had made good on his word. So while he really could do with the extra shut-eye right now, he knew he would have to force himself out of bed.

“Gods give me strength,” he huffed as he slung his legs over the side of the bed.

He pulled himself out of the bunk and shook himself awake. 

“Did you sleep okay at least?” Kun asked, tugging his tank-top over his head. “I almost thought I heard you whimpering. Bad dream?”

Ten shrugged casually as he pulled his clothes out of his locker. 

“Nah, I was fine. Nothing but sweet dreams for me.”

A lie. Ten was having the same nightmare he had back in that Cloud 9 hotel room. But he wasn’t about to tell that to Kun – he had enough to worry about as it is.

“Oh, yeah?” Kun smirked, looking up from where he was, hunched over tying up on of his combat boots. “Am I in these sweet dreams of yours?”

Ten swallowed thickly.  _ Yes, and you’re crying and reaching out to me just before you’re snatched away from me, _ he thought. He took a deep breath and willed the thought away.

“Sometimes,” Ten hummed. He searched his locker for his belt, hand rummaging shelf by shelf for it. “Shit…”

“Here.”

He turned on his heels to see Kun with his belt in hand. Before Ten could protest, he started lacing it through the loops on Ten’s pants for him.

Ten smiled to himself. He liked this. He liked what they were –  _ how  _ they were. They never properly discussed things between them, but it never felt necessarily. They knew they cared for each other deeply and at a time when any day could be their last, that was all that seemed to matter.

Kun fastened the belt around his waist and Ten kissed his cheek in thanks.

Soon enough, they were fully dressed and their two pairs of boots marched in tandem down the corridor toward the deck. They stepped out into the open space, the symphony of drills and hammers and welding tools loud enough to drown out any thought.

“Ah, Captain Qian! Finally!” A small mechanic named Yeri shouted as she slid out from beneath a Raptor across the deck. She jogged over toward Ten and Kun, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, only to leave a smudge of grease on her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Sure, what’s up?” Kun asked, looking around. “What did you need me for?”

“It’s the Raider,” she said, nodding toward the space where the enemy fighter jet was left when it was dragged on board after the sneak attack by the Cylons nearly a month ago. “Thought you might want to take a look at it.”

Kun and Ten looked at each other curiously before following her as she darted excitedly over to its makeshift docking station. 

It was strange to see the Raider so close up like this, in person. It’s wide, curved wings looked monstrous. The central body resembled the original Cylon models – the massive, metal-bodied robots known as Centurions. 

“It’s fascinating,” Yeri said, almost with stars in her eyes. “Quite a specimen. We’ve been trying to take a look at it – to get inside – but it’s a tough old bastard. No one can seem to figure it out.”

Kun huffed out a laugh. “And you think _ I _ can?”

The mechanic turned to him and shrugged.

“You did kill it, right?” She asked. Kun nodded tentatively. He wasn’t entirely sure he had, but in the absence of any other explanation, he agreed. “Then it’s worth a shot. We’re kind of...out of ideas.”

He nodded and stepped closer. He was slow as he reached out, cautiously resting his palm onto the wing. It was weird. It made him feel anxious but, strangely, it was familiar at the same time. 

He slid his hand along the surface. He’d lost track of how many of these he’d shot out of the sky. He never really appreciate the engineering genius of such a machine.

“What exactly am I supposed to be looking for?” Kun asked, following the bend of the wing toward the body of the Raider. 

“We’ve yet to find the point of entry,” the mechanic explained. “We figure these things have to be maintenanced sometime, right? We want to open it up.”

“‘Maintenanced?’” Kun repeated. His fingertips reached the ‘head’ of the Raider, tracing over the ridge of its eye. “That sounds so  _ clinical _ . It’s more like it needs to be…cared for.”

The mechanic cocked an eyebrow. “Okay. Sure. Whatever you say…”

“Careful,” Ten warned from nearby. 

Unlike Kun, he did not grow any more comfortable being in such close proximity to the Raider. He was happy to keep a bit of a distance.

Kun traced his finger over the conspicuous bullet holes that Ten had fired through the Raider – just to make sure it was terminated.

“I think I’ll be fine. Good shot, by the way, Ten” he chuckled over his shoulder. He turned back and tilted his head, examining the face of the Raider. “C’mon, show me how you work…”

Ten watched carefully, chewing his lip. Seeing how delicately Kun ran his hand over the frame of the Raider reminded him of the way he slid his fingers along the curve of Ten’s side before they would fall asleep together. It looked all too natural for him.

Something bubbled in Ten’s stomach. He was unsettled. 

Kun crouched and ducked beneath the body, still carefully palpitating the ship. One spot suddenly depressed beneath his palm and he fell back as some kind of hatch in the hull slid open.

Kun gasped at the sight of blood and sinew and even some lower layer of skin that was revealed inside the Raider. He promptly covered his nose from the smell, the stench of decaying organic matter burning his eyes as well.

The mechanic scurried over to his side.

“My gods…” Yeri breathed, pinching her nose as her own eyes widened. 

This was not what they expected to find something like this inside of a Raider. They were supposed to be just machines. No one thought it that they could be living things, too… 

The mechanic called over others and promptly began cutting through to the inside. Old blood splattered out onto the deck, coating the concrete in thick globs of dark red. 

Kun winced. 

The rush of other engineers to the scene crowded him out and he scooted back and away. Two hands hooked beneath his arms and yanked him off the ground.

“You okay?” Ten asked, hand still around his waist as he found his feet.

“Yeah, no, I’m good,” Kun breathed. He dusted his pants off but couldn’t tear his eyes away from the Raider as its guts started spilling onto the floor.

“You sure? You look...green,” Ten pointed out. “That smell is  _ terrible _ .”

Kun sucked in a deep breath and nodded. He lacked the words for this feeling – it was some cross between horror and curiosity.

After clearing an entry into the machine, one engineer took a flashlight and poked around the inside. The stench seemed to double in potency.

“Holy shit! This looks like a brain in here!”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Ten mumbled, leaning closer to Kun’s ear for privacy. “A  _ brain?  _ All this blood? These are supposed to be just...metal…”

Kun hummed. He didn’t know what to say and watching the crew dissect this thing was beginning to turn his stomach. He pivoted on his heels and headed for the door, but—

“Sir, don’t you want to see what’s inside?”

Kun shook his head. “I trust you guys to figure it out. I’ve got to, um, sort out the patrol rotation.”

He didn’t wait for their response, instead continuing his exit with Ten begrudgingly not far behind.

Ten actually wanted to stay and see what they could figure out about the enemy ship. It was disturbing, but he was interested. Cylon technology almost surely outstripped their own – the Raider probably had a lot of technology that could be used to the fleet’s advantage. 

But Kun was clearly upset, so Ten followed him out, after stealing a few more curious glances at the machine.

“What’s up with the patrol rotation?” Ten asked when he caught up with him.

“Nothing. I just… I had to get out of there,” Kun admitted. 

The way Kun stared straight ahead of him told Ten not to push the issue. He simply nodded and let Kun lead them wherever it was he would rather be.

\\\\\

Ten heard the door of the storage locker open and he glanced up toward it, abandoning the game of Solitaire he had set up on top of crate while he waited.

“I almost thought you weren’t coming,” he smiled.

“Sorry,” Kun chuckled shyly. “You know how Sushi Roll likes to chat.”

He quietly closed the door behind him and Ten stood up to meet him. He swaggered passed the boxes and bins towards Kun and slid his hands around his waist, lacing his fingers behind his back.

Things hadn’t returned to normal, but they were trying not to dwell too heavily on the bad things. After the situation with fuel reserves, an official inquiry was opened, but the cause was determined to be the deterioration of the ship’s integrity after no hard evidence could be found to the contrary.

Recently, the fleet was able to find an asteroid with enough tylium to make up for the lost fuel and power the fleet for years to come. It came as a massive relief to everyone, most of all Kun and Ten.

Rumors still swirled about Cylon infiltration, but Ten had no problem keeping Kun close and out of trouble. He knew he was scared – he just wanted to protect him. 

Outside of duty, you couldn’t find one without the other.

“Were you followed?” Ten asked after a chaste peck to his lips.

Kun shook his head. “Went through Hatch 6 on C-Deck, like you suggested. Quiet as always.”

“Good,” Ten smiled. 

These little meetings became increasingly common. They were comfortable when it was just the two of them alone together – when they could unwind in each other’s arms. But privacy was usually hard to find when they needed it the most. They had some lucky breaks in the past, but now they had to sneak around to for some quality time.

This dingy storage unit became something of a little oasis for them when their options for a private place to speak were limited.

Sometimes it was just that – simply talking. Other times, these meetings were a little more...lively.

Ten hooked his finger around Kun’s chin and caught his lips again. Kun melted against him – Ten had a very effective way of alleviating all his stress.

“What do you want to do today, hm?” Ten asked, tilting his head coyly.

It didn’t take long before Kun was hiked up onto a crate with Ten between his legs and lips moving familiarly against his.

There was a clanging on the other side of the door, a distant but sharp sound of metal against metal.

Kun tore himself away and turned over his shoulder. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah. Probably just some hubbub in the Damage Control Center. We’re not very far from it in here,” Ten shrugged. 

Kun kept his eyes glued on the door, squinting, waiting. Ten sighed and turned Kun’s face back towards him, concern in his eyes. “C’mon, what are you worried about, baby? You didn’t have another gap in your memory, did you?”

“No, it’s not that, but—”

“Then ‘but’ nothing,” Ten smirked. “Unless you’d rather go investigate instead of staying here…with me…”

Kun smiled when Ten tugged him by the collar of his top and pulled him in close once more.

///

“Four cubits says Cat-Eye takes him for a ride.”

“Hm. I’ll take that bet.”

Metal currency hit the tabletop beside the main pot in the center of the card game.

“Side-action? Already?” Mark gawked. “Come on, give me a chance at least.”

Ten peaked over the top of his hand of cards. “If you had anything  _ close  _ to resembling a poker face, you wouldn’t make it so easy for us, Seeds.”

Other pilots chuckled around him and his eyes sparkled with delight, for the first time all day. 

Ten had another nightmare last night – the same one as before. He was sprinting through a dark forest before running into an open clearing where Kun stood before him. Just as before, he watched Kun reach out his hand as tears poured from his eyes. And just as before, Kun closed his eyes and was pulled backwards away from him in the blink of an eye. 

The only difference this time was that once Kun was gone, Ten noticed another in the clearing with him. Another man – young, with warm skin and soft, silvery hair. 

It made him anxious, the way the metallic-haired one looked at him. He had smiled at Ten, something knowing and almost  _ mocking _ . Ten had a hard time shaking it from his memory. It seemed to be there every time he closed his eyes.

Thankfully, relieving his fellow pilots of their money in a card game was diverting his attention well enough at this time.

“Everyone, shut up! The President is about to be on!”

All conversation ceased and everyone turned toward the staticy television set in the corner of the mess hall to watch the President's broadcast to the fleet. 

_ “Good evening all. This is your President speaking,” _ the voice came through the speakers.  _ “Recently, an attempt was made to access the fleet’s defense systems aboard the Galactica. While unsuccessful, the attempt was made by a Cylon agent that had infiltrated our fleet. Which brings me to my next point: we have learned that there are now Cylons that were created to look human – to look just like us. We are on our way to discovering a way to help us find any remaining Cylons. But for now, we definitively know of two Cylon models and we have reason to believe there may be more duplicates of these models aboard our ships. Their photographs will be circulated among the fleet. We ask that you do not panic and thank you for your cooperation during these difficult times.” _

Two photographs were shown on the television screen. One was of a corpse, a Cylon that was already terminated. It looked like a woman, with fine features and cropped black bangs. Ten didn’t recognize it. But the image of the other had the hair on the back of Ten’s neck standing up. 

It was the face of the man who appeared in his dream. Its glare was sharp enough to cut through the grainy broadcast. And the way it’s black eyes peered at him through the screen had Ten’s blood running cold.

Conversations resumed. No one was really surprised, it seemed. The rumors were already so rampant, that to have it confirmed wasn’t much of a shock at this point.

“When did this happen?” Ten asked, after taking a moment to shake off his own surprise. 

Hendery, a Raptor pilot, turned to Ten in confusion and pulled the lollipop he was sucking on out of his mouth. “Yesterday. You didn’t hear?”

Ten shook his head. 

“Probably missed it because he’s too busy fracking the CAG,” Yangyang snickered beside him. Ten kicked him under the table and rolled his eyes, but it did little to stop their giggles. “Anyway, I heard from Renjun. It snuck in on a civvie freighter.”

“Yeah, they caught the skinjob just outside Damage Control. It was like it  _ wanted  _ to get caught,” Mark added. 

“So...is it still alive?” Ten asked.

“Yeah, in custody,” Yangyang said, absentmindedly flipping a metal cubit around and around against the table. “But if it were me, I would’ve painted the walls with its guts.”

Ten listened carefully, keeping his eyes on his cards, running his fingers over the worn edges while he thought.

“I fold,” he announced suddenly. He dropped his cards and stood from the table, despite everyone’s griping. 

He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and headed for the door. If that Cylon was in custody aboard the ship, he resolved to find a way to speak to it directly. He didn’t know why, but something told him it might have answers for him.

But there was someone else he needed to talk to first.

\\\\\

There were a lot of things that didn’t change when Kun first received his promotion from Lieutenant to Captain of the Air Group. For instance, he still was a lead flight instructor. He still commanded his pilots through mutual respect and understanding. And he still boxed with the nuggets in the Rec Room to put them through their paces.

But some things were significantly different. As CAG, Kun was now an integral part of the military’s upper management and as such, he was included in briefings on classified security matters. Before the attack on the Colonies over a month ago, Kun would’ve been more than happy to be involved in such crucial meetings, but now it felt wrong. He felt like an outsider in the mix. Fear would prick the back of his neck whenever new information was revealed about the enemy, and every discussion on strategies and tactics seemed to make him anxious. 

He did his best to be useful and not let his nerves betray him. But it was hard, especially since Ten wasn’t allowed to be with him.

Ten seemed to be the only thing that was keeping him together these days. His best friend was like a glue holding him in one piece. When he couldn’t be around, Kun’s fears crept up and settled right in beneath his skin, creating the cracks and fractures all over again.

He tried to shake off the feeling after a particularly high-tension security meeting as he made his way through the corridors of Galactica to meet Ten in their spot. He ducked into a smaller hallway and through the hatch door that would lead him to the cargo hold.

When he reached the storage space, Ten was already inside, pacing through the dimly lit rows of crates and boxes. His brows were knit together in thought.

“Hey,” Kun said. “I guess you heard the President’s announcement.”

Ten hummed, finally stopping in his tracks. 

“So it’s confirmed then,” He said.

Kun nodded. He stepped forward and dropped down onto a box. He really needed to sit down. 

Ten locked onto the way his shoulders slumped.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, taking a seat beside him. “Besides the obvious, of course…”

Kun took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. 

“What the President said – that’s not all of the story,” Kun said. “There’s so much more they’re not telling the people.”

That wasn’t surprising. It made sense that the military would keep some of the more sensitive information from the public. But Kun’s reaction to it had Ten nervous.

“Like what?”

Kun sighed, bringing his hand up to rub his forehead. He opened his mouth to speak – he wanted to spill it all right there, but he couldn’t. His throat dried up, along with all the things he wanted to share with his closest friend.

“I… I really can’t say,” he said.

“Kun, baby, come on, it’s just me,” he whispered.

Kun shook him off and rose from his seat. “No, I can’t say it. I  _ want  _ to say it, but— I’m having trouble. It’s like… I can’t get it out.”

Tears pricked his eyes in confusion and Ten jumped up to his side.

“Hey, look, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” he cooed. He rubbed his back comfortingly until he seemed to settle, at least a little, before what he would say next. “But Kun, listen. I want to talk to the skinjob that’s in custody.”

Kun looked at him, eyes wide in shock like Ten just grew a second head.

“You can’t,” he gasped. “It’s too dangerous.”

Ten scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It can’t be any more dangerous than jumping into a Viper and launching my ass out in combat, but I still do that, don’t I?”

“Ten, even  _ I _ won’t even go near it.”

Ten pursed his lips. He knew that Kun probably wouldn’t like the idea, but he didn’t expect so much pushback. 

“I don’t care. I have to do it,” he countered firmly, before softening his voice. “I just need your help getting the clearance. A recommendation from the CAG would go a long way…”

Kun considered it, considered him. He knew if Ten wanted to do something, there was little Kun could do to stop him. He would find a way with or without him. The fight wasn’t worth it.

“Fine,” he caved quietly. “But Ten, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the footage from the holding room. It’s…”

Kun lowered his eyes to the floor, scanning absentmindedly across the track lines engraved on the surface while he found the words to explain. Ten ducked into his eyeline.

“It’s what?”

“Disturbing,” Kun said finally, frowning. “It talks to itself. It recites some kind of scripture, sometimes for hours on end… And it plays games with the guards.”

Ten’s eyes narrowed at that. “What kind of games?”

“Mind games. It’ll try to get inside your head, you know?” Kun explained. He shook his head – the more he thought about it, the more he wanted the other to change his mind. “I really don’t like this, Tennie.”

Ten stared at his hands, focusing on a bit of dirt beneath his nail instead of the pain in Kun’s voice. He hated feeling like he was disappointing him in some way. 

“I’ll be okay,” he murmured. “You know I can handle myself.”

“I know that, but we don’t know what it’s capable of,” Kun murmured. “And if anything happened to you…”

He trailed off, unable to bring himself to continue. Ten was all he had now. This life without him was unimaginable.

Ten could tell. He could tell because it was exactly the same feeling he recognized within himself. 

“Thirty minutes, Kun,” he pleaded. “I just need a half hour with it.”

Kun searched Ten’s eyes for any hint of relenting, but found none. He reached forward, pushing his fingers through the soft black hair as Ten leaned into the touch.

“Fine. Half an hour,” he said glumly. “But… Why do you want to do this?”

Ten offered a half-hearted shrug. “The devil you know beats the devil you don’t.”

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are happeningggggg D: !!! please share your thoughts and feelings with me, i am so interested to know what you all think!!! comments & kudos are always super appreciated - thank you for reading! <333
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


	5. command relieved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It makes it a lot easier to blend in with the enemy when you have no idea what you really are…” The Cylon touched a finger to the blood pooling on its palm, gazing at the crimson residue on its fingertip. It then pressed it against the metal tabletop, smearing a small streak of blood onto the surface and admiring it. “How is Captain Qian, by the way?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK HERE WE GO!!! i made myself so emo writing this lkjghsdklgjf but it was worth it.
> 
> this is the last chapter (before the epilogue) so please keep in mind the warning AND the tags on this! 
> 
> enjoy!~ <333

Ten stood in front of the window to the interrogation room, arms crossed. He had been scrutinizing the subject within for some time now.

The Cylon had the appearance of a man, bent over with his head resting on the slick steel tabletop. Its hair was the same silvery hue that he remembered, only the roots were dark from neglect.

Or maybe that was by choice. Could Cylon hair actually grow out?

Ten didn’t know. He chewed on his nail and waited. He had requested to speak with the Cylon, under the guise of trying to get information about the Raider and how to operate it.

Truthfully, he didn’t know what he planned to say. But if this thing was appearing in his dreams, he was determined to find out why.

“Are you ready to go through, sir?” The guard questioned as he stepped toward him. 

Ten said nothing, eyes narrowed and focused on the subject. 

“Weird, isn’t it?” The guard said, following Ten’s gaze to the unmoving Cylon. Ten hummed and finally stepped aside while the door to the holding area was unlocked. The guard quietly added, “May the gods be with you, sir.”

Ten nodded in thanks and swaggered inside, taking a seat at the table opposite the figure. 

He sat back and watched. He wasn’t scared at the sight – the Cylon was restrained with handcuffs – but he was cautious, waiting until the right moment to speak.

Ten squinted, noticing a bead of sweat roll down the Cylon’s forehead toward the tabletop. 

“Interesting…” he muttered, mostly to himself.

The Cylon jolted upright in its seat and the sudden movement had Ten’s muscles tensed. The Cylon shook its hair out and reached up to push it off its forehead, but the restraints were latched to the edge of the table and the motion was strained at best.

It exhaled deeply before sitting back in its seat, and Ten finally had a chance to take it in. 

The Cylon looked exactly the same as in his dreams, right down to the old t-shirt and patched-up black denim jacket. Even with the dark, purplish bruise on its cheekbone and the cuts along its cheeks and chin, it was naturally handsome, and Ten thought it made sense that such features would have to be manufactured in a lab.

“Ahh. I was wondering when you might come and see me, Lieutenant Leechaiyapornkul.”

Ten was careful not to appear flustered or surprised. It could’ve overheard Ten’s name at any time in the past few weeks, whether in a conversation or over a wireless radio. It wasn’t significant.

“That’s very formal,” Ten hummed.

“My apologies,” the Cylon said. “I can call you Ten. That’s what you prefer, is it not? The nickname your sister first gave you?”

Ten’s jaw set. He knew the Cylon would try to play games with him. He knew it would try to get in his head, but he had to be calm or at least look like he was, even though the Cylon’s knowledge of his life already had him nervous. Every word would have to be chosen carefully.

“Right,” Ten said. His voice was even and relaxed. “Well, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“It’s okay. I forgive you,” the Cylon sniffed casually. It glanced around the room as if it was just now noticing it. Then its eyes settled back on Ten. “I’m Donghyuck, by the way. Nice to finally meet you.”

It – _Donghyuck –_ extended a hand across the table as far as it could reach. Ten disregarded it.

“You’re not happy to see me,” it noted, withdrawing.

“Why would I be?” Ten snorted. “You attacked my home. And you killed my people.”

“Your people only got what they deserved after years and years of crimes against my species,” the Cylon said, rather bluntly. “But I don’t believe you came here to rehash who’s responsible for which atrocities.”

“I didn’t.”

“You came here for something else.” 

Donghyuck leaned across the table, resting his cuffed hands on top of the surface. Its index finger curled, beckoning Ten closer. 

Ten edged forward in his seat, but before Donghyuck spoke, the guard by the door lifted his firearm in warning. Donghyuck glanced cautiously at the guard and then back to Ten, who sighed and signaled at the guard to excuse him from the room.

“Because you’ve seen me before, haven’t you, Ten?” Donghyuck asked quietly. “I know you have. In your dreams.”

Ten said nothing, holding a stone-faced gaze into its eyes.

“It’s okay,” the Cylon whispered. “I see you in mine, too.”

Ten scoffed and turned away.

“Right, Cylons can dream now, huh?” He snorted. “Amazing. What a world.”

This time it was the Cylon’s turn to tread carefully against his words.

“Of course, we dream,” Donghyuck said. If Ten didn’t know any better, he would say it almost looked hurt. “How else would we receive messages from God?”

A smirk curled up on Ten’s lips. 

“Ah, right. The Cylon ‘God,’” he snickered. 

He noted the way the Cylon’s eyes darkened, pupils growing black as night.

“If by ‘the Cylon God,’ you mean the one true God, then yes,” Donghyuck said, teeth somewhat gritted in frustration. “God is what brought us together. God told me to find you.”

Ten rolled his eyes. This was not what he expected. He was here to get answers to all the questions that were piling up around him – not to listen to the ravings of a Cylon zealot.

“For what, hm?” Ten asked, heaving a tired sigh. He was less and less amused by the second. “Why did your God bring us together?”

Donghyuck sat back again.

“I don’t presume to know God’s plan,” it remarked simply.

“That’s convenient,” Ten hummed. “Sounds like shoddy programming to me.”

The Cylon’s eyes narrowed, glaring coldly at Ten from across the table. Ten hoped it couldn’t pick up on how quickly his heart was beating, rattling against his ribcage with every thump.

 _It’s no different from combat, Ten,_ he thought to himself. _Assume you’re already dead. Dead men don’t have fear._

Donghyuck took a long, slow inhale as if calming itself. It opened its palms and peered down at them. 

“Programming is such a fascinating thing… We can be programmed to believe in one, true God,” Donghyuck said, slowly closing both of its hands into tight fists until it winced. “We can be programmed to feel pain, or not…”

The Cylon unfurled its hands again, revealing four crescent-shaped cuts in the skin of each hand with blood beginning to eke out of them. It looked back up at Ten.

“We can be programmed to kill, to show no mercy,” Donghyuck continued, voice low. “We can even be programmed to believe we’re human.”

“Bullshit,” Ten spat, hoping it hid the quiver in his voice.

His nerves were starting to fray. Unsettled, he pushed himself out of his seat and slowly paced around the table.

Donghyuck shrugged, a dark smile stretching along his lips as he stared at Ten’s empty seat.

“It makes it a lot easier to blend in with the enemy when you have no idea what you really are…” The Cylon touched a finger to the blood pooling on its palm, gazing at the crimson residue on its fingertip. It then pressed it against the metal tabletop, smearing a small streak of blood onto the surface and admiring it. “How is Captain Qian, by the way?”

Ten said nothing, frozen. All of his attention was currently focused on not attacking the Cylon, or possibly passing out.

“I know you know, Ten. For a long time, right? Probably since your little night together on Cloud 9. See, a Cylon’s spine has a tendency to glow red whenever we’re—” Donghyuck paused, smirking. “ _Intimate_. It’s a funny little glitch, isn’t it?”

“Shut up—”

“There were so many signs. I’m sure you suspected it, and yet you’ve been sleeping with him, anyway,” Donghyuck carried on. It followed the other’s heavy footsteps from the corner of its eyes. “I wonder if it was worth it.”

There was a stutter in Ten’s pace. “If what was worth it?”

“These days, even shaking hands with a Cylon can get you charged with treason,” Donghyuck explained coolly. “I wonder what they would do to you if they found out you were fracking one.”

A hand gripped around the back of Donghyuck’s neck and slammed its head against the table.

Ten leaned down, hovering over it, breath hot against its ear.

“Stop trying to get in my head,” he snapped, before releasing his hold and stepping away. “You’re just buying yourself some time.”

Donghyuck’s breathing was rough as it slowly straightened up. New blood leaked from a fresh wound on its forehead, dripping down the arch of its brow.

“I don’t need time. I’ll be killed soon enough – of that, I’m sure,” Donghyuck smiled, thumbing away the drop of blood.

Ten was more focused on assessing the validity of Donghyuck’s words. He surely didn’t believe that Kun was a skinjob like the one sitting in the room with him. He grew up on Caprica, and Ten had known him since their first day at the Academy. He’d watched Kun fight against the Cylons for years. It was impossible that he could be one.

Right?

“Doesn’t it make sense to you? I know you can put the pieces together,” Donghyuck spoke up again. “The fuel reserve tank rupture… The Raider that deactivated – they're programmed not to fire on their own kind, you know. It saw something it wasn't meant to see. And who do you think left that door open for me to get through to Damage Control? He’s been quite a good little agent, whether he’s meant to be or not.”

Ten swiveled on his heels and laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You’re full of shit.”

Ten felt like he was starting to lose his grip and the Cylon was gaining ground. He was scrambling to get off the back foot but his nerves were quickly fraying to the edge.

The Cylon tilted its head and stared up at Ten through its long, dark lashes. The blood was beginning to clot in its cut and it was hard to look at – hard for Ten to remember what it really was.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you,” Donghyuck said, clicking its tongue. “You’re in a very dangerous position, Ten.”

“Right. Says the one locked up in the enemy’s interrogation room.”

“Make no mistake,” Donghyuck said quietly. It turned its wrists this way and that, examining its restraints. Standard, military-issue handcuffs. Steel. A little worn after time. “I’m only here because I chose to be.” 

“...Sure,” Ten hummed, unimpressed.

He rolled his eyes, and it was exactly at that moment when his gaze left Donghyuck, that the Cylon tore apart its restraints. 

The linked chain severed like tissue paper and Donghyuck leapt forward out of the seat. In an instant, it had Ten pinned against the wall, fingers around his throat.

“I’m here to make sure you heard God’s message,” Donghyuck hissed, lips curling under and teeth bared. “You’ve seen it in your dreams.”

Ten struggled, clawing at the hand around his neck, but it was no use. The grip was tight like a vice around his windpipe and the Cylon forced Ten up the wall until the tips of his boots could barely brush the concrete floor anymore. He didn’t even have his firearm on him.

His eyes searched frantically for the guard but he was long gone. He was all alone at the Cylon’s mercy and his consciousness was beginning to fade.

“You already know what has to be done,” Donghyuck continued, pressing his throat harder. “You have to do it. Don’t you want to protect the fleet, Lieutenant?”

A purple hue began coloring Ten’s skin, and the Cylon tilted its head, almost as if admiring the beautiful color.

“Humans are so fragile…” Donghyuck marveled. 

Ten stared into its eyes, searching, almost pleading. It was so dark. Endless and empty and _cold_ , just the deep space beyond the ship. It looked exactly like what he would expect of a Cylon.

_“Ten!”_

Donghyuck suddenly released Ten, letting him collapse to the floor. The Cylon spun around on its heels toward the sound and a gunshot rang out sharply in the small space.

Ten was still gasping for air to replenish his sore lungs when he looked up. Even through blurred vision, he could make out Kun’s figure in the doorway to the interrogation room, gun in hand.

A river of blood seeped from the new bullet wound in Donghyuck’s abdomen. The Cylon stumbled backwards into the wall and slumped down against it, fingers clumsily gripping at the cinder blocks.

Kun stepped toward the Cylon, chest flushed red and nostrils flaring in a wild fury that Ten had never seen before. 

“B-brother,” Donghyuck breathed out, nearly choking on the blood that was filling its lungs.

It gazed up at Kun with fondness and familiarity, even as Kun raised his weapon again. Donghyuck’s eyes closed and Kun fired again, this time at the head.

Donghyuck was gone. Ten didn’t realize his own chest was still heaving until it was the only sound in the silence. The growing smell of iron was starting to make his stomach churn.

Kun knelt down in front of him and carefully ghosted his fingers against Ten’s neck.

“Are you okay?” he mumbled. His voice was barely audible as he eyed the red rings left behind from Donghyuck’s fingers. “It’s been over half an hour, so I…”

Ten’s lips parted. His mind raced with the hundreds of things he wanted to say, and the _millions_ of questions he wanted to ask, but nothing came out.

Kun looked towards the door.

“Okay. I understand,” he said knowingly. He grabbed Ten’s hand and pulled him upright onto his feet. “We have to get out of here.”

Kun tugged him out of the room and Ten followed, letting himself be dragged along like a ragdoll in his wake. His head was spinning too much to even focus on where Kun was taking him, darting through tiny, dark corridors. They pushed through one more door and Kun stopped in his tracks.

Ten blinked, looking around the room. It was utilitarian in nature, metal beams criss-crossing the walls and ceilings. Behind Kun, bright yellow letters were stamped on the wall.

**_AIRLOCK SYSTEM 7_ **

“They’ll find the body soon enough,” Kun said quickly, suddenly breaking through the wall of silence between them.

Ten finally managed to grasp some words. “Kun, what the frack is going on?”

Tears pooled in Kun’s eyes and Ten could feel his fingers trembling against his own. 

“I think we both know,” he said.

Ten found a way to meet Kun’s eyes again. They were so full of warmth and selflessness and care. He couldn’t be one of them. No amount of Cylon programming could simulate the love that Kun always showed.

“No…” Ten breathed, shaking his head in denial.

“Please, Ten. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s like I was turned on. Like I was—” Kun paused. “Like I was _activated_. And I’m a danger to the fleet. To you. I can’t stay here. If I did—”

“They’ll execute you if they find out,” Ten finished for him, voice breaking. 

Kun nodded solemnly.

“But that doesn’t matter. That’s not what I’m worried about,” he mumbled, lowering his eyes to the floor. “It’s what they’ll do to you that I’m scared for. Everybody knows about us…”

This was too much for Ten. He was shaking, his body unable to contain the fear and confusion swirling within, and Kun could tell.

“Ten—” 

Kun stepped forward and tried to lift a hand to Ten’s cheek, but Ten only flinched and moved away. Kun dropped his hand to his side and swallowed thickly. 

“Hey, listen to me. I can’t risk anything happening to you,” he whispered. “So I need you to do something for me. There’s a reason why we came here, to this room. You have to kill me.”

“I… I can’t.”

The words barely made it out of Ten’s throat. What Kun was asking for was unimaginable.

“Tennie, look. You’ve been so amazing, and I’ll never be able to thank you for trying to take care of me, to protect me through all of this,” Kun said. The words came out bittersweet as a tear rolled down his cheek. “It’s about time I returned the favor, okay?”

Ten’s lips trembled as he tried fiercely to hold back his own tears, but it was no use. They spilled out over his pink cheeks as he shook his head, unable to get any more words out.

“Ten, please!” Kun shouted, now desperately clutching at Ten’s shoulders. “As your Captain, I am ordering you to get into that control room, flip the switch, and throw me out of this airlock!”

There was no uncertainty in Kun’s clear order, but his fear and anguish was written all over his face. Ten had never seen such pain etched into his soft features.

Kun pinched his eyes closed and let go of Ten, bringing his hands to either side of his own head like he was ready to tear it clean off his shoulders. He groaned in agony.

“There’s so much I want to tell you, but— but I can’t!” He turned around, kicking his boot into the steel wall in frustration. “My whole life is a fracking lie…”

Ten could see how much this was destroying Kun, having everything he knew snatched away from him like this. There was no way he knew what he was all this time. 

Ten swallowed his sobs and finally managed to find his words. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Kun turned back to Ten.

“Okay,” Kun breathed softly. He settled, but only for a moment. “Look, there isn’t much time, but there’s something you need to know. There are people – _humans –_ left back on Caprica. The Admiral’s putting together a search and rescue mission.”

Ten didn’t understand why he was telling him this and he was almost angry about it.

“Why does that matter right now?” 

“Do you trust me?”

Ten chewed his lip. Even if he was a Cylon, he was different. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew Kun wasn’t like the other that now laid cold back in the interrogation room. 

He took a deep breath and nodded.

Kun’s chest fell in relief. He stepped toward Ten, closing the space between them. He reached up and pulled around the chain on his neck until it broke with a blunted snap.

Holding Ten by the wrist, he dropped his dog tags delicately onto his palm before closing his hand around the small hexagon charms.

“Then make sure you’re in that rescue party, Ten.”

He didn’t know what the hell that meant but he agreed nonetheless.

Before he could stop himself, he was flinging his arms around Kun’s shoulders. More tears slipped down his cheeks and soaked into the cotton of Kun’s shirt.

Kun pulled away, a tender hand cradling the back of Ten’s head. He wanted to have one last chance to feel the soft locks against his fingertips.

Ten gently caught his lips, and he wanted to melt into him in that moment. He wanted everything else around them to just...disappear. To dissolve into the ether so it could just be two of them.

But it wasn’t that easy. Nothing was.

_“Set Condition Two throughout the ship.”_

The announcement bled through the PA system in the airlock and their lips fell apart. Security was being heightened throughout Galactica and they knew time was running out for them.

“I love you,” Ten breathed.

Kun wanted to crumble at the words he’d never heard Ten say before. It felt honest and right, but he felt like he didn’t deserve it.

“I love you,” Kun echoed. He finally, sorrowfully, released Ten. “ _Go._ ”

Ten didn’t waste another second, heading back into the control room. It was hard to remember how to activate the systems with his mind so clouded, but somehow he managed. Until the last step.

His hand hovered over the trigger.

“Do it, Ten!” Kun yelled, though his voice was muffled through the reinforced glass. “Just do it, and run!”

Ten shook himself loose and pressed his palm down on the button to initiate the depressurization of the cabin. A red light overhead started to flash in time with the alert buzzer that blared through both spaces.

He looked through the window at Kun. Tears poured out of Kun’s eyes like a waterfall now, as there was no use holding back.

The massive door behind Kun cracked open to reveal open space. He didn’t dare turn around to see it. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed forward, on his love.

Ten pressed his hand to the glass and Kun did the same, lining up his fingertips almost perfectly with the other’s. The air whipped around him as the oxygen was sucked out of the room.

Kun’s eyes drifted closed, and finally his body was pulled out into space – just as Ten had seen it happen in his dreams.

Ten couldn’t bear to see Kun’s lifeless figure floating out among the stars and he doubled over the control board as a sob racked through his body. He clutched around the dog tags in his hand, the points digging into his skin until it stung. 

_‘Do it and run!’_

Ten heard Kun’s distant voice ringing in his ears and he choked back his tears. Kun was gone, and he needed to get out of there immediately. 

He straightened up, drying his cheeks roughly with the back of his hand as he reversed the airlock system to close again.

As soon as the door began to shut, he bolted. He wanted to run to the barracks, to pull out one of Kun’s t-shirts, crawl into his bunk, and cry his heart out until he had nothing left – but he couldn’t. He pulled himself together, tucked Kun’s dog tags into his pocket, and worked on getting his story straight.

Ten used to not mind being on his own, not when someone he cared for was usually never too far away. Now that was all different. There was a lot to be accounted for – and he was left all alone to pick up the pieces.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHH!! if you made it this far, thank you so much for reading & i really hope you enjoyed it!! 
> 
> please PLEASE share your thoughts and feelings sklfdjhlgkdj i want to know how y'all are doing lol. fyi i love hyuck so much and this physically pained me to write 😰 but it had to happen!!
> 
> kudos & comments are alwayyyysss super appreciated! <333
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


	6. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Relax.” 
> 
> Kun finally noticed a figure hovering beside him. A man, pale with black hair and eyes that tilted gently upward at the corner.
> 
> “It’s much easier if you relax,” the man cooed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please enjoy~~~~~ <333

“Ten, are you, um, almost ready?”

The question came from Xuxi behind him. It was gentle and cautious, and Ten hummed in response. He had been fussing over his lapel for some time now. 

He almost never wore his dress uniform. The thick grey material was too stiff and unforgiving, and today it felt particularly heavy hanging off his shoulders. 

He huffed as the lapel refused to lay properly, but it would have to do. He checked himself in the tiny mirror in his locker. Nothing really seemed to matter to him anymore, but for today, he wanted to look his best. It’s what Kun deserved.

He licked his fingertips and tucked back a stray lock of hair away from his forehead and sighed. 

_Aren’t you forgetting something?_

The voice inside his head wasn’t his, but Kun’s instead. That started happening lately. Like his own mind was trying to provide some sort of comfort.

And he knew what he was missing. He reached for the gold pins on the top shelf of his locker. They were dense in his hand. He carefully snapped them onto his collar and checked his appearance in the mirror again. 

The Captain insignias always looked so fitting on Kun, but on him, he couldn’t help but feel they were out of place. Still, he was next in line to serve as CAG now, nonetheless.

He swallowed his grief and tried to put on a brave face, turning on his heels and heading for the door where his fellow pilot was waiting.

A section of the hangar deck was cordoned off for the funeral. There was no body, of course, so a simple display was created instead.

A podium, draped with the colors of Caprica, Kun’s home planet. His most recent military portrait was placed carefully on top of it, surrounded by a few candles. Kun always did have the most remarkable smile in Ten’s eyes, enough to light up even the darkest room. Ten regretted how little he saw of it towards the end.

He steeled himself, knowing everyone’s eyes would be watching him, and thought about that day.

It wasn’t difficult to explain the Cylon’s death. The only witness was Ten, who assured the investigating personnel that it was self-defense – with the rings of bruising around his neck as proof. But people naturally questioned the circumstances around Kun’s death. It seemed unlikely that someone with as much experience as Kun would accidentally trigger an airlock procedure. 

There were plenty of rumors – everything from foul play to suicide was suggested, but there was no evidence to back anything up. All anyone knew for sure was that Kun was gone. 

Thankfully, no one seemed to suspect Ten was responsible. Everyone knew how he felt about Kun – everyone could see his misery.

Ten stopped having the recurring nightmare about Kun and the other Cylon he knew as Donghyuck. On one hand, there was relief in never having to relive that. On the other hand, he would give anything to see Kun again, even in that way.

The ceremony held for Kun was dignified but touching, and Ten thought Kun would have appreciated it. He just about held it together until a group of officers set about methodically folding the flag of the Twelve Colonies to the sound of the speaker’s solemn words of remembrance.

Tears began edging along the rims of his eyes and Ten ducked his head in the hopes that it would effectively hide the teardrops slipping down his cheeks for the rest of the ceremony.

Once it was finished, an officer caught Ten off guard, presenting him with the folded flag.

“You were the only family he had left, sir,” the officer explained. 

Ten nodded, carefully taking the material into his hands. He sucked in a deep breath and blinked back his remaining tears, pulling himself together.

_‘Then make sure you’re in that rescue party, Ten.’_

Some of Kun’s last words echoed back in his head. He still didn’t know what it meant, but he had to trust Kun. He had to believe in something.

///

Kun shot forward, eyes ripping open while he gasped for air to fill his empty lungs. He blinked to get his bearings, only to see his body was submerged in some kind of glittery, gooey substance in a massive tub. It was dark around him, the only light coming from his tub. He grabbed for the sides of the structure, hoping to lift himself out, but—

“Relax.” 

Kun finally noticed a figure hovering beside him. A man, pale with black hair and eyes that tilted gently upward at the corner.

“It’s much easier if you relax,” the man cooed.

Kun said nothing in return, lying back again. His head was hurting harder than ever before, a searing pain like his skull was on fire.

“The pain will fade, too,” the man added, as if reading Kun’s mind. 

He gazed at Kun with pride and admiration, head tilted.

“Doyoung! Is he back yet?”

Kun realized they weren’t the only two here and he shrunk back even further.

The man – presumably Doyoung – turned his head, withdrawing his fingertips that were dangling just enough over the edge of the tub to feel the goo. “He’s awake.”

He heard footsteps approaching and finally another man was in view, tying a fluffy, white robe around him. Kun stiffened at the sight – even though the other’s hair was still wet, he could see the unmistakably silver tone.

He bent down beside Doyoung, a somewhat playful smile on his lips.

“You’re already acquainted with Donghyuck,” Doyoung hummed casually, flicking excess goo off of his fingertips.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hold a grudge for killing me,” Donghyuck said, smirking. “You did exactly what you were supposed to do, Brother.”

Kun swallowed roughly.

“Where am I?” He asked.

“You know where you are. You’re back at the Resurrection Hub on Caprica,” Doyoung said. He brushed a piece of damp, sticky hair away from Kun’s forehead. “You’re home.”

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAHHHHH oh my goodness thank you for reading this fic!! it was short, but it's just one small part of a larger universe that i do plan on expanding!! 
> 
> if you decided to give this fic a shot, i can't thank you enough and i really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i loved writing it! 🤗
> 
> as always, kind comments & kudos are GREATLY!! APPRECIATED!! <333
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO LKJKFJDLSKJSDF i know this first chapter came in pretty hot with the action but it will mellow out considerably lol. i hope you enjoyed reading it!! feel free to ask for clarification on anything - there was so much ground to cover in this au and i did my best, but i'm happy to fill anything else in!
> 
> please leave me kudos and kind comments & let me know what you think!!! <33 
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


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